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SPEECH 






OP 



R. M. " T. HUNTER, OF VIRGINIA, 



ON 



072 the resolution of notice to Great Britain to abrogate the convention of joint 
occupancy relative to the Oregon territory. 



DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, JANUARY 10, 1848. l^^ 



Mr. HUNTER rose and addressed the House 
as follows.: 

Mr. Chairman: I was one of those who regretted 
that this debate should have arisen when it did. I 
regarded it as premature and unfortunate, and I 
feared that it might add to the difficulties in the way 
of a wise and dispassionate settlement of the ques- 
tion before us. But, so much has now been said, 
that a yet fuller development of the opinion of this 
House is perhaps due to the country, and ourselves. 
For myself, 1 have been the more anxious to ex- 
press my opinions at an early stage of the debate, 
because I foresaw that 1 should be separated from 
many, perhaps from most of my political friends 
upon the question before us. I am happy to believe, 
however, that the differences between us are not so 
wide and deep as to be irreconcilable. This differ- 
ence relates not so much to the end which we all desire 
to attain, as to the. means by which it is to be pur- 
sued. From what I have gathered of the opinions 
of this House, I believe that all desire the pos- 
session of Oregon, not only up to the parallel of 49°, 
but to that of 54° 40.' Nearly all, so far as I am 
informed, believe that our title to this country is 
good, not only to the 49th parallel, but up to that of 
54° 40V I, for one, entertain that opinion. The 
whole question between us is as to the be s t and 
wisest means of attaining an end which we all equal- 
ly desire. Mr. Chairman, 1 have expressed the 
opinion, that, without regard to the distinctions *>f 
party or of sections, all of us desire the possession 
of the whole territory in Oregon, to which we are 
entitled. There is no man with an American heart 
in iu'a bosom who could be insensible to the pros- 
pect of planting our flag and our settlements upon 
the shores of the Pacific. There is no such bosom 
which would not swell with emotions of hope and 
of pride at the prospect of the influence, commercial, 
political, and military, which we should derive from 
a position on the shores of Oregon and California, 
should we be so fortunate as to be able to obtain the 
last by just and equitable means. Looking to the 
map of the globe, and taking the world over with 
a view to its social and political relations, and to 

fmysical characteristics, there is no such position 
01 military strong^ and commercial supremacy, us 



we shall occupy if our settlements should cover the 
whole breadth of the continent from the Atlantic, to 
the Pacific ocean, underourpresent form of govern- 
ment. In the centre, lies the vast valley of the Missis- 
sippi,* destined to be not only the hive, but the 
storehouse of nations, and impregnably secured be- 
hind the Alleghanies on the one side, and the 
Rocky mountains on the other. In time of 
war, a mighty reserve, ready to debouch on 
either the Atlantic or the Pacific slope, to over- 
whelm with irresistible force any foreign invasion, 
and able in time of peace — teeming, as it will be, 
with people and resources — to cherish and sustain 
a vast commerce on either sea. From the Chesa- 
peake northward, our harbors and rivers, commu- 
nicating with vast inland seas, give us the most 
commanding commercial position on the vast basin 
of the Atlantic, which receives the waters and the 
commerce of most of the large rivers of the world. 
With Oregon and California, our position on the 
Pacific would be nearly as commanding. We should 
hold the advanced posts on the line of commercial 
interchanges between the civilized portion of the 
world, and most of that which is semi-civilized or 
barbarous; and we should probably become the 
centre of commercial transit between the two seas. 
The possession of Oregon, and the peaceful acqui- 
sition of California, would place this Union in a po- 
sition of impregnable strength and stable greatness, 
with one arm on the Atlantic sea and the other on 
the Pacific shore, ready to strike in either direction, 
with a rapidity and an efficiency not to be rivalled 
by any nsOon on the earth. 

I know that these speculations on the future are 
uncertain and often dangerous; but it would seem to 
be next to impossible that, with this position, and^ 
with all these elements of military strength and of 
political and commercial greatness, we should not 
be able, not only to command the largest share of 
the commerce of both seas, but also to protect and 
advance the march of civilization throughout the 
entire extent of this continent. With these views 
of the subject, how could I be insensible to the im- 
portance of maintaining our claims to Oregon? But 
shall we best promote our purpose by adopting the 
recommendation of the Committee on Foreign Af- 



fairs in rektion to the notice? With great defer- 
ence to their matured and, perhaps, better opinion, 
I must say that I think not. To determine this 
question, it will be necessary to ascertain, a3 far as 
possible, the probable consequences of either course, 
as we may give, or refuse to give, the notice for the 
termination of the convention of joint occupancy. 

Let us, then, Mr. Chairman, examine this ques- 
tion calmly and dispassionately. Let us view this 
subject under none of the hallucinations of national 
pride; let us approach it in no boastful or braggart 
spirit, and with no disposition to use it as the mere 
mean3 of flattering national vanity. Let us come 
to it in that higher spirit which conscious strength 
shouid inspire — with the feelings of those who are 
too well satisfied of our title to the respect of the 
world, and of our ability to hold our own, to be- 
lieve that it can either be necessary or dignified to 
deal in extravagant pretension or exaggerated asser- 
tion. If there be such a spirit of inquiry in this body 
to which I may address myself, I would ask, what 
are to be the consequences if we give the notice? If the 
notice begiven, the best result which can possibly flow 
from it will be an adjustment of the difficulty by trea- 
ty, upon the basis of a boundary on the 49th parallel 
of latitude. Under existing circumstances, we can 
■expect no better treaty, and it is manifest that we 
will take nothing worse. It is absurd to suppose 
that Great Britain will offer to give us more than 
"we have agreed to take. If this matter be amicably 
adjusted, it is evident, under the existing slate of 
the negotiations, that we get nothing beyond the 
49ih parallel. Now, Mr. Chairman, such an ad- 
justment, in my opinion, would be far better than 
the doubtful chances of a war under the circum- 
stances which at present surround us. But I should 
certainly prefer the whole country up to 54° 40', if 
there be means compatible with the peace and honor 
of the nation, as I think there are, by which we 
.should probably obtain the whole territory. But 
how do those gentleman stand who support this 
resolution as a peaceful measure, and yet maintain 
that we can take nothing less than our whole claim 
on Oregon. If the measure be peaceful, is it not 
manifest that, by adopting it, they essentially aban- 
don the whole country north of the 49th parallel? 
If they adopt it as the means of obtaining the whole 
country, they can only do so upon the supposition 
that it is to lead to war, and that thus we shall ob- 
tain the whole. I shall presently endeavor to ascer 
tain what would be the probable consequences under 
that conjuncture of circumstances. But here I must 
pause to say, that I do not mean to disparage or 
disapprove the proposition made by the administra- 
tion to settle the question amicably upon the basis 
of a boundary along the 49th parallel. Under the 
circumstances, and from the course of previous ne- 
gotiations, the President could have done no less 
than to have made such an offer. It was due to 
public opinion at home and abroad, it was due to 
our national character, and the great interests of 
humanity, that he should manifest a desire to do 
much for an honorable peace. The terms which he 
offered would have been considered by each party 
to the dispute as falling short of the full measure of 
their just claims, but in the more impartial, but, per- 
haps, less informed opinion of. the residue of the. 
civilized world, they would have been regarded as 
fair, equitable, and honorable to both countries. He 
would have done much, too, for the country in 
thus securing, by peaceful and honorable means, 
an advanced post for our population up to the 49th 



parallel. He would have acquired, as far as I have 
been able to inform myself, much the most valuable 
portion of the country, both for commercial and 
agricultural purposes. I know that the chairman 
of the Committee on Foreign Affair3 has expressed 
a different opinion. But with great deference and 
respect for that opinion, I must be allowed to de- 
clare my dissent from it. The opposite opinion ex- 
pressed by Mr. Greenhow, to whose enlightened 
researches the country is so much indebted, seems to 
me to be sustained upon better grounds. The har- 
bor of Port Discovery, of which Vancouver speaks 
in terms so high, and the harbors on Admiralty 
inlet, are said to be admirably adapted to the uses of 
commerce. 

As I am informed, they are better not only in nat- 
ural capacity, but from position, than those higher 
up on the coast. Of the superior agricultural ad- 
vantages of the portion of the territory below the 
49th parallel, I presume there can be no doubt, 
and 1 think they are very generally admitted. The 
President might well suppose that he would effect 
much in securing the peaceful progress of our in- 
fant settlement in Oregon up to the 49th parallel; and 
this being done, he might safely leave it to time and 
American enterprise to do the rest. But, Mr. 
Chairman, let me return to the inquiry into the 
probable consequences of giving this notioe. I have 
said that the best possible result would be an adjust- 
ment on the basis of a boundary along the 49th 
parallel; but I have seen nothing as yet to convince 
me that it was the most probable result. If the 
minister from Great Britain refused to consider this 
proposition, when made in the course of an amica- 
ble and courteous correspondence, is it very proba- 
ble that she will be more inclined to accept it when 
we give the notice, under circumstances which im- 
ply that she must either agree to our proposition, or 
go to war for the whole country? If the British 
minister represented the real views of his govern- 
ment, is it probable that with their dispositions that 
government will be the more inclined to accept our 
offer on account of the threat which it may suppose 
to be implied by our giving the notice? If she re- 
ally designs to go to war, rather than compromise 
upon the terms which we proposed, is there any- 
thing unreasonable in supposing that she might 
think the present time and circumstances as. favora- 
ble as any likely to occur for striking the blow? If she 
really attaches the importance to her whole claim on 
Oregon, which many seem to imagine, and regards a 
war for it as inevitable, will she not think that the 
sooner she strikes the blow the better for her? Or if, on 
the other hand, she is anxious to settle the question 
amicably, and desires nothing more than terms 
which may be regarded as honorable by her own 
people and by the world, will this spirit be conciliated 
by our giving the notice, and by the circumstances 
under which it will be given? To sum up the whole, 
is it not manifest, on the one hand, that if this step 
should lead to war, we give to Great Britain, in- 
stead of reserving it to ourselves, the advantage of 
choosing her own time for it? If, on the other hand, 
this be designed as a peace measure, is it not more 
likely to defeat, than to encourage a renewal of ne- 
gotiations in a sensitive and hi»h spirited people? 
Such seems to me to be its probable ten- 
dencies; and unless Great Britain should think 
this disputed territory to be of little value 
to her, however important it might be to us, 
and unless she entertains a strong desire for peace, 
I can see no other result to flow from this notice eo 



probable as that of war. One thing is perfectly j not only for Oregon, but Texas alao. The Indian 
f relear; this measure must either lead to a settlement tribes beyond the Rocky mountains are known to be 
on the basis of a boundary along the 49th parallel, ' under the influence of the Hudson Bay Company, 
• or it must produce war. Our western friends say j and it is probable that most of the western Inuiaus 
^£that they will be content with nothing less than the ] would take sides with Great Britain in the event of 
-'-whole extent of our claim; and if this be so, is not a war between her and this country. Under these 
war inevitable, under present circumstances? If war circumstances, what would become of Oregon, and of 
ie to be the mode of settling this question at last, it ' our infant settlements on the Columbia? 1 believe it 
would seem to me that it would be far wiser to pre- j is the opinion of our best military authorities, and, 
serve the present state of affairs, that we may be indeed, the very general opinion, that, during the 
able to choose our own time for fighting, and select war, Oregon itself must be abandoned, and that we 
a period when we were better prepared for the con- shouid have to strike in anada, and upon the seas, 
test, and when the attendant circumstances might be And yet gentlemen coolly demand war, or what 
more propitious. Let us look, Mr. Chairman, into ( will lead to war, as a duty which we owe our peo- 
the circumstances under which this war would now pie in Oregon, when it is manifest hat the very first 
be waged, and ascertain, if we can, its probable con- step of that war would be to abandon them unpro- 
sequences. Have we made any of the military tected to British troops, to the Hudson Bay Corn- 
preparations necessary for such an event? Would pany, and their savage allies — to a war, unless they 
one, or even two years, suffice for the preparation i at once made terms for themselves, as likely to be 
proper for such a contest? If war be inevitable, is signalized by all the circumstances of barbaric 
notour internal condition such as to make delay atrocity as any of which we have an account. Those 
desirable? The whole country is just recovering unfortunate people might well ask the chairman of 
from a deep financial depression. Many of the Foreign Affairs if this be what he calls '-ackingof 
States are either unable, or barely able, to pay their his friends?" In such a contest, is it not probable 
own debts. They are not in a condition to bear , that Oregon would be lost only to be recovered, if 
the weight of internal taxation, which must be one ; ever, by another war, to be undertaken at a more 
of the main resources of the war. A few years auspicious period? If this struggle were now to be 
hence, a different and more favorable state of things commenced, I do not believe that there would even 
might be fairly expected. What, let me ask, would . be an effort made to send troop.? to Oregon. It 
be our position in the public opinion of the world? : would be regarded as a w iste of men and means, at 
We break off the negotiation because our proposi- | a time when, with Mexico to the southwest, with the 
tion was not accepted, and we give the notice under Indian tribes on our western frontier, wi'h British 
circumstances which proclaim that there must be and Canadian troops on our north, ami with British 
war, unless she will settle the question upon our own j fleets covering the eastern and southern line of our 
terms. She has offered us a mode of settling this j coast, we should be encircled as with a wall of fire. I 
dispute, now universally regarded amongst civilized ( doubt not but that we should emerge from it victo- 
nations as a fair and honorable method of adjusting I rious. It is not on the soil Which we occupy that 
national controversies — I mean arbitration. This j we can be conquered, or even be worsted. I bare 
we have already refused; nor do I disapprove of full faith in American spirit and pattjotism. But I 



that refusal, under the circumstances then existing. 
She will probably offer it again, and we shall again 
refuse it. I do not stand here, Mr. Chairman, as 
the advocate of arbitration; upon that question I 



do not believe that we should pass unscathed thr.-.Uih 
that fiery trial, nor ought we to task too highly 
those great qualities of our people i>y exposing them 
to unnecessary difficulties, as we. should do if w<- en- 
hare nothing to say at present;' I am merely deal- j gage in a war before we are prepared for it. or if we 
ing in facts, with a view to the consequences, make war to attain what might lie had far more <-er- 
~~ e shall again refuse arbitration, Mr. Chairman; and i tainly and honorably by peaceful mea s. That we 



why? Because we say there are none of the nations 
of the world whose governments are honest and im- 
partial enough to decide this controversy between us 
This may all be so; but will a refusal of arbitration 
for such reasons be likely to win us much of the 
sympathy of the world? Under these circum- 
stances, am I wrong in supposing that the world 
will be apt to regard us as the aggressor? The pub- 
lic opinion of Christendom would be thus defied at 
the time when Great Britain has a better under- 
standing with the continental states of Europe than 
she has ever enjoyed at any previous period of her 
history, so far as I am acquainted with it. The 
"cordial understanding" between herself and France, 
her ancient enemy and our former ally, is notorious 
throughout the world. Under these circumstan- 
ces, what chance should we have for either sympa 
thy or assistance from any of these powers in the 
event of a war? But this is not the whole view of 
the existing state of our foreign relations, and its 
connexion with our prospects in a war. If we have 
a war with Great Britain about this time, shall we 
not probably have Mexico alao on our hands? It 
ia known that she is sore under recent occurrences, 
and it is equally notorious that she is much under 
British influence. We should probably have a war 



should cwmeoutof such a c nite^t with honor, I do 
not doubt; but that we .should lose as much or more 
of Oregon than would be given up by any treaty 
likely to be made, 1 regard *>• also pRob-thle If war 
be the only mode of maintaining our ri^h s in Ore- 
gon, that war. ought to be d« frrred, as it is m uiifest 
that our chances for success m'.st m iea-e with eve- 
ry year of delay. Butif there be peaceful a»id hon- 
orable means (as I shall end avoi to show hfreafn r) 
which would more pro'.ahly give us the wh >ie terri- 
tory, we owe it to ourselves and lothe world W adopt 
them. 

Butgeniemen have promised that if war be once 
commenced with Great Britain, we shall terminate 
it by driving her from this con incur, and depriving 
her of all that she claims or possesses upon it. I 
do not stand here, Mr. Chairman, to take issue with 
that proposition; I mean neither to a(Ti m nor deny 
it. 1 will not even ask if ''our old men see visions 
and our young men dream dreams " 1 will suppose 
the anticipation to be, true; and I shall endeavor to 
trace such a war as this would be to its cm -sequen- 
ces, to see if the chance or the certainty of acquiring 
Oregon a few years sooner, would compensate us 
for them. 

Mr. Chairman, I know of no instance ifl wh. ch & 



4 



nation, pretending to independence, and the equality- 
supposed to result from it, has yielded up the 
-whole subject of dispute which had led to the ware 
There is, it is true, more than one shining instanc. 
in which a nation has conquered its independence 
without impairing the position of equality of its op- 
ponent. There are instances, too, in which a con- 
quered people have yielded all. But I know of no 
treaty in modern times, between equals, in which 
one of the parties, after a war, has given up the 
whole subject in controversy without ail equivalent. 
There may be such instances, but T do not remem- 
ber one, even in the most successful period of the 
career of Napoleon. Neither Marengo nor Auster- 
jitz ever gave him such results in his treaties with 
Austria. Of all the European nations, Great Brit- 
ain is the most distinguished for the pertinacity with 
which she has hitherto struggled for her rights and 
her honor. Now, Mr. Chairman, is there a man 
amongst us who supposes — does the wildest dream- 
er of us all believe — that she would ever close 
a war by yielding not only the whole subject in dis- 
pute, but her own undoubted territory until she had 
first waged it, and been defeated in it, as a war not 
only of mastery, but of existence ? Would her sa- 
gacious statesmen be slow to perceive that any 
treaty which branded her with the visible stamp of 
inferiority alter a war, would be the sure precursor 
of her downfall? She knows that the hungry 
and expectant eye of continental Europe is fixed 
upon the prey which a division of her mighty em- 
pire would afford. She is aware, too, that the cal- 
culation has already been made as to how far the 
invention of steam has destroyed the security of 
her natural defences — of her insular position. She 
no longer feels able to continue the proud boast that 
"Britannia needs no bulwarks, no towers along the 
steep;" for she is now engaged in constructing coast 
defences. She must feel that the whole charm of her 
power lies in the idea of her invincibility on the seas 
and in her colonial possessions. To destroy by her 
one act this idea, would be to hold forth the signal for 
the eagles to gather to the banquet, and would involve 
the loss of power, empire, and character itself. Can I 
be mistaken in supposing that a war which brought 
her to such a conclusion, would probably be the 
longest and bloodiest ever known in the annals of 
mankind ? Gentlemen have promised that this 
thing shall be done. I do not stand her to dispute 
it. in the event of a war, I wish that they may 
be able to make good their words. But before 
this can be accomplished, we must track the British 
lion in his blood from the rising to the setting sun. 
We must hunt him from stronghold to stronghold, 
until we have pursued him throughout the circum- 
ference of the globe. Every sea, every clime must 
become familiar with the noise of the terrific 
strife. Ear distant people, nations to whom as yet 
■we are scarcely known, must be startled at the 
apparition of this new power which is to struggle 
with Great Britain for the mastery in places where 
she had long reigned the most supreme. Erom 
Aden to the Ionian isles we must pursue her over 
wave and through fortress, on one continuous line 
of blood and fire, until we have swept her flag from 
the seas, and buried her fleets in the ocean. We 
jmust throw down her places of strength; we must 
despoil even her gardens of "pleasaunce." Yes, 
sir; to this dreadful extremity must we bring her, 
before she can agree to conclude the contest upon 
terms which would destroy her most cherished sen- 
timent of national pride, and probably lead to the 



destruction of the mightiest empire which, as yet, 
the world has known. 

If we are to obtain what gentlemen have promised 
us, such must be the war which we are to' 
wage. What, Mr. Chairman, must be the con- 
sequences of such a war upon ourselves and our in- 
stitutions? Who can foresee these consequences in all 
their extent, or undertake to measure the results? 
How great would be the danger of a centrali- 
zation of all power in the federal govern- 
ment, and of an obliteration of the lines of State 
authority? How many hundreds of millions of 
debt should we entail on ourselves and our posteri- 
ty? How far should we fall into the lower depths 
of the paper system? To how distant a day in the 
Greek calends should we postpone those great 
democratic reforms which we had fondly hoped we 
were about to introduce, and for which we have 
labored so long and often with such doubtful suc- 
cess? We should go into the war a free, happy, 
and moral people. Who can undertake to foretell 
the extent and nature of the transformations which 
we may undergo before wc come out of it, or who 
can measure the waste of all the elements of hu- 
man happiness and social order which such a war 
would occasion? Should we be justified in the eyes 
of God, or of mankind, for thus perilling the great 
interests of our country and of humanity for the 
sake of obtaining possession of Oregon a few years 
earlier, when we are sure of acquiring it a little la- 
ter by honorable and peaceful means? Could we 
be justified in exposing the country to such ex- 
tremity if there be even a probable chance of ac- 
quiring the territory by means not only peaceful 
but compatible with our honor? Or if war and such 
a war be inevitable, ought we not to postpone it un- 
til we hare more men, more means, more resources, 
and more auspicious circumstances for its com- 
mencement' But, Mr. Chairman, it may be said 
that in my view of the probable consequences of 
such a war as that must be which should lead to 
such a conclusion as is promised, I have virtually 
admitted that the republican system of policy is 
practicable only in time of peace. Such is not my 
opinion. Wc have not had time as yet to intro- 
duce or mature our system. The ideas upon whi«h 
they rest are not fully possessed by the public 
mind. They require time and a period of peace for 
their full development. But if once matured and 
developed, I believe they would enable our govern- 
ment and people to stand the shock and pressure of 
war with far greater ease and buoyancy than under 
any other course of policy. I, for one, am of the 
opinion that if wewere now to plunge into war we 
should fall into some of the worst forms of the paper 
system, owing to the remains of what I believe to 
be a wrong idea once implanted in the public mind; 
and yet 1 believe that the expenses of a war could 
be far better sustained without these abuses of that 
system than with them. I have long thought that 
we suffered almost as much in the last war from 
such abuses as from the British troops. But, Mr. 
Chairman, I have yet another answer. The genius 
of our institutions is pacific — they were not organ- 
ized for distant and offensive warfare. For defen- 
sive war I believe they are the strongest in the world, 
for they bring to its aid the united hearts of our peo- 
ple. We were not organized for a career of war and 
conquest, and I thank God for it; for then we should 
have required a far more despotic form of govern- 
ment, and we might have stood as fair a chance as 
any to become the curse of mankind, instead of being 



5 



their benefactors, as I maintain we have been by i there are others, again, upon which peculiar and 
the example of our institutions and our progress, sometimes transient circumstances give her the si;- 
We have always been proud to believe that ours periority. In a war for Oregon, at this time, she 
was a higher and more glorious destiny; we have possesses superior advantages in her long-estabiish 



believed ic to be our destiny to achieve our triumphs 
in the useful arts of peace, to subdue the difficulties 
and master the secrets of nature, to adorn and culti 
Tate the earth, to introduce a new and a higher civili 



ed and sedulously-cultivated influence over the In- 
dian tribes, in the command of the forces of the 
Hudson Bay Company which are at hand, and in 
the facility with which she couW transport troops 



zation, to develop better forms of social and political from her various stations on the Pacific. But if we 
organization, and to minister to the progress and the wait a few years, the balance of power muse change- 
universal peace and happiness of mankind by the ' Circumstances will cast it on our side as they now 
Leneficent example of a free and happy people, who ' do on hers; and in a contest — if contest there must 
were wealthy without rapine, strong without crime, i be for Oregon — we shall be found the stronger party 
great without war, and peaceful without fear. To- j in that territory. But it has been said that, if we 
wards these great and benficent ends we have already ! refuse to give this notice, we shall violate our na- 
done much- and in doing it we have won more true' tional honor. How? Has our sensibility on this 
glory than if, like Tamerlane, we had left pyramids j point been just now awakened ? From 1818 to this 
of human heads as the monuments of victory, or ; day we have never felt this joint occupation to be a 
like Attiia or Alaric, the scourge of God and the pest stain upon our national honor. Has it ever been 
of nations, ravaged and desolated the earth in the I pretended until recently that it was a disgrace to 
storm of our warfare. Our thousand of miles of rail- j continue the convention ? Is there anything dishon- 
roads and canals which have thrown down the bar- . orable in adjourning a dispute, without the least sur- 
ficrs of nature to the affiliation ef our people, and to ! render of our rights, and upon terms which give us 
the common and kindly interchange of so much that ' every chance of acquiring peaceably all that we 
ministers to the happiness of man, are far nobler j claim? The other party, with her eyes open, has 
monuments to the genius of a people than the col- \ insisted upon placing the determination of the con- 



umn 6f Trajan or the palace of Blenheim. These 
are the monuments which are worthy our name and 
our destiny 



troversy upon this issue, in which fhe advantages are 
all on one side. Is it not a wiser as well as a more 
moderate mode of disposing of the matter to abide 



But, Mr! Chairman, I return to the inquiry which j by these terms? Let things remain, then, as they 
I was pursuing. I have endeavored to give gentle- 1 are, and let us pass such measures as may encour- 
jmen the advantage of their own suppositions; and j age our settlements in the disputed territory without 
jn whatever way 1 have turned the tapestry for i contravening any treaty stipulations. Thousands, 
them, the picture has seemed to be forbidding. But j or even hundreds of thousands, expended in judi- 
most so in that aspect which gave us the picture of cious measures for colonization would do far more 
War waged to such extremeties as some gentlemen for our ultimate possession of the territory, and be 
have promised. But is there a real probability that far better appropriated than millions lavished on the 
the war would be waged to such extremities by two uncertainties of an unnecessary war. I put it, sir. 



nations whose powers of mutual annoyance are so 
great, and whose capacities for mutual benefit are 
so large? Is is not likely that both nations would 
lire of a contest so destructive and bloody, and agree 



to considerate western men — to those who desir^ 
Oregon more than war — if such a course of policy be 
not the wisest which we can pursue with reference 
even to the single end of acquiring the territory which 



to terminate it'by an arbitration which, in the univer- 1 they so much desire. I know that the gentleman 
eal opinion of the civilized world, is considered a fair I from Indiana, [Mr. Owen,] has said that the Hud- 
and honorable mode of adjusting national differences? son Bay Company would interpose obstacles to our 



Sir, 1 believe that if there should be war, it will 
most probably terminate in an arbitration, and thus 
we should have an arbitration and war, when we 



settlement north of the Columbia river, by buying 
out those of our citizens who attempted to plant 
themselves on that side. He has mentioned one 



we might have had an arbitration without a war. case in which he hag known that to be done. Pos- 
Could any man hesitate between such alternatives? sibly there may have been more; but is not thatdis- 
But gentlemen here are against an arbitration, i tinguished gentleman too well aware of the great 
I myself wish to avoid it, and I believe this may laws of trade to suppose that they wouiu long keep 
easily be done by means which most probably ; up that game? Besides, this is a game at which more 



would secure us the whole territory in peace and 
honor. Let us refuse to give the notice; leave 
the negotiations to stand where they are; for we 
have now done all that it becomes us to do in the 
line of negotiation. We have offered a compromise 
upon liberal terms which has been refused, and we 
have manifested a proper desire for peace. Let us 
now rely upon our superior means of colonization. 



than one might play. Does he, or any other marv 
believe that if our settlements are once firmly planted 
south of the Columbia the crack of our American 
rifles, and the sound of the axe of our western pio- 
neer will not, in due time, be heard not only north 
of that river, but north of the 4Uth parallel? 

But it is said that England will not allow this, and 
that if this course of policy be attempted, she will 
Great Britain has elected to leave the ultimate pos- ■ ere long give notice herself, and declare war up- 
session of the territory to depend on our relative ca- j on us. Let her if she chooses; let her if she dares. 
pacities for settling it. In this contest, the advan- She then would become the aggressor, and in such 
tages are on our side, and it must end in putting us j a war we should be sustained not only by our own 
in possession of all that we claim. We thus avoid i conviction of right, but by the general sympathies 
the chance of losing the territory altogether. There of mankind. It would unite our people instantly 
are gentlemen, I know, who are disposed to smile at and effectually; and with one heart and with one 
this; but let me remind them that, in comparing our- j mind, they would rally to the rescue of national 
selves with Great Britain, they must remember that j rights and national honor with all the advantages of 



there are some theatres where we are her superior, | previous preparation, and with the spirit which has 

equal, and heretofore distinguished them. But is it probable 



there are others where we are her 



5 



lhat she would do this? Is she in a position to do 
it with her own expressed views of the grounds of 
her title.' She claims a right to joint occupation in 
Oregon under the conve n'inn mado in 1813, and in- 
definitely continued in 1827. Whilst this conven- 
tion continues, she enjoys the joint occupancy by a 
title to which we assent. Suppose she were to 
put an end to this convention, she would but revert 
to her title under that of Nootka Sound, by which 
she herself claims Only a right of joint occupancy, 
and under which her own commissioners have dis- 
claimed a title ti> exclusive sovere'gnty in any por- 
tion of the territory. If she were to give the notice 
to term:n?."e. our convention, under these circum- 
stances she would stand in the attitude of abandon- 
ing a right which she held Ly a title to which we 
assented, to claim it again by another which we re- 
fused to acknowledge. She would thus place her- 
self before the world as seeking war for war's sake, 
and assume the position of an unprovoked and wan- 
ton aggret-sor. In this attitude'of affairs, h^w could 
she hold up her head in the face of Christendom, or 
invoke the blessing's of the God of battles in a con- 
test which she had so insolently and wantonly pro- 
Toked? But could she have any adequate motive 
for so wanton an outrage? She can have no in- 
terest in the permanent possession of this north- 
west coast. She; finds far more eligible sites 
of colonization in New Holland, New Zealand, the 
Cape of Good Hope, and in the Canadas. These 
colo.ifs would contribute to the consolidation and 
Strength of her empire. They lie, too, En the path- 
way of hfr commerce. She has here territory 
enough to absorb all her immediate and prospective 
means of colonization for a century, perhaps for 
centuries to come. It may be important to her to 
hold there for a time certain subordinate right-; of 
occupation short of the sovereignty of the country 
in Oregon But of what use cat! it be to her to set- 
tle her citizens on the north Pacific coast? It is 
not in the pathway of her commerce, although it 
is invaluable to us for curs. She ha? no back coun- 
try to supply through the little strip of settlement 
which she might attempt upon the coast; but v/e 
have, and its products seek an outlet by our com- 
merce oti the western ocean. But grant that she 
desires it ever so much; must she not know per- 
fectly well that the thing is hopeless? She may 
desire it as tie means of keeping us out, but with 
what probability of success? The mighty wave of 
our ponulatiori is yearly advancing westward at the 
rate of halfad^gre'e of longitude on a line of more 
than three hundred le gues. Could she expect her 
feeble settlements o-i the western coast to resist the 
■vast, inert esiiig; and resistless pressure, when, with 
the mighty weighi of our populeuionjfrom the Atlan- 
tic to the Rocky mountains, this wave shail pour 
down the Pacific slope? Her statesmen are too 
wise to expect it; and it is not likely that, for the 
sake of the little advantage which she miirht have in 
that quarter, she would expose herself to the con- 
stant hazitu of a war with U3. Our mutual means 
of annoyance are too great; our mutual interests in a 
reciprocal commerce are too vast for her to be wil- 
lin°- to ri.-k the consequences of a war for an object 
so pe'.y to her, however important it might be to 
us. 

But it hr.sbeen said by some gentlemen that Great 
Britain possesses as great facilities for colonization 
in Oregon as we do; and it has been apprehended ' 
that she mi;-ht give this new direction to the tide of 
her emigration. I have no fears upon thi3»subject. 



I reason from the past to the future. If she has not 
done it heretofore, it is not likely that she will do it 
hereafter. She can have no stronger inducements 
to this policy for the future than she has already 
had in the past. Emigrants from the Old World 
would no more suit Oregon than Oregon would suit 
them. It is only by a people trained like our west- 
ern pioneers, that this territory can ever be reduced 
to the permanent use and occupation of man. The 
superiority of our means for colonization is already 
evinced by the difference in the character of the set- 
tlements of the two countries. Our people do not go 
to Oregon to hunt and fish, and take up a temporary 
abode there. They ^o to settle the country — 
to cultivate and improve the soil — and to 
leave an inheritance to their posterity. The Brit- 
ish settlements, on the other hand, are temporary 
and fugitive. They go their for hunting and for In- 
dian trade. It is no part of the British policy to 
colonize Oregon,- and it never will be. The fart that 
she rests her title on the Nootka Sound convention, 
and claims nothing more than the right of joint oc- 
cupancy under it, would seem to indicate that she 
considers it as a temporary station, and looks for- 
ward to its ultimate abandonment. If this country 
is fit for agricultural settlements, and our people 
should seek it for that purpose, then by a most 
"manifest destiny" it must be ours. 

Mr. C. J. Ingersoll speaking across. How, if 
they should set up for themselves? 

The honorable chairman has asked me whether 
the people of Oregon will set up an independent gov- 
ernment for themselves. I have no idea that they 
will. If this nation shall proceed in its present 
course, gradually occupying and taking possession, 
of the entire breadth of the continent, from the At- 
lantic to the Pacific coast, we shall possess a cohe- 
sive strength, from our social organization, and phys- 
ical and geographical position, which must bind us in 
an indissoluble union. Instead of forming separate 
and independent communities, our population would 
present to the world the glorious spectacle of a re- 
public, the greatest and the widest that the earth 
ever saw, with interests different, but not hostile, 
with regions distinct, indeed, but not in opposition, 
each ancillary to the other, and all contributing to 
the general strength and prosperity. 

Mr. C. J. Ingersoll, speaking across. But 
how, if there should be a black tariff? 

Mr. H. continued. Let this state of things once 
come, and I tell the gentleman that we shall hear no 
more about the "black tariff." Open to us the vast 
Pacific market in addition to that which we now 
enjoy on the Atlantic, let the productions of the 
country take their natural and unrestricted course 
to pour themselves into both, and there will be no 
danger of hostile rivalry, of separation, or of anew 
republic setting up for itself. The ties of union, 
would strengthen with every hour — mutual benefits 
and mutual interests would link us indissolubly to- 
gether. There is no danger of disunion. Our great- 
est present danger is from rushing into a war before 
we are prepared for it. 

Mr. Chairman, I again appeal to all candid and 
reflecting men from the West — to those who go for 
Oregon, and the whole of Oregon — to those who 
might desire war for Oregon, but who do not desire 
Oregon for war — I appeal to these men to say if the 
course of policy which would lead to such a con- 
summation as I have described, be not the proper 
line to be pursued? If we would see thia prospect 
realized certainly, though gradually, we must let 



this controversy remain as it ie. Let us not renew 
the negotiation; make no more offers to Great 
Britain; but let us trust to the process of coloniza- 
tion now so rapidly in progress, and we shall 
quietly, peaceably, and certainly obtain the whole 
of what we claim. I care not how glorious 
the war may be, it would be better to avoid it; for 
it is in this way alone that we may reasonably hope 
to obtain what gentlemen eo ardently desire — "the 
•whole of Oregon." Let things remain ns they are. 
It would seem to be impossible that Great Britain 
should pat an end to the joint occupancy as long as 
she rests her title on the Nootka Sound convention, 
under which she claims joint occupancy, and noth- 
ing more. In the meantime, let us go on and fill 
the country; let us pass such measures as, without 
violating the treaty, would contribute to that end; 
and then if we should find it necessary ultimately to 
eo to war, we can choose our own time for do- 
ing it. 

But my v/estern friends seem disposed to reproach 
the South in this matter, as if it were ungrateful in 
them to resist that mode of obtaining Oregon which 
so many of them regard as the best. Nothing could 
pain me more than such an imputation. The South 
acknowledges its obligations to our western friends; 
we feel it, feel it deeply and strongly, and would 
most gladly requite it. This I believe we may do 
by pursuing such a course of policy as presents the 
only hope of obtaining all Oregon, whilst it would 
save us from the dangers and sacrifices of a war for 
which we are unprepared, and into which we must 
enter under circumstances less propitious than they 
are ever likely to be hereafter. But whilst I advo- 
cate this as the wisest and most statesmanlike poli- 
cy, I trust that my western friends will understand 
me. Whilst in this matter I pursue the path which 
I have taken iwider convictions of duty quite as 
deep and strong as their own, 1 hope they will per- 
mit me to follow it without reproach, so long as I 
cast no reproaches on them for choosing a different 
route, which I regard as much more perilous, not 
only to the great interests of the country, but to our 
chances for the ultimate possession of Oregon. 1 
will aid them in such measures as I believe would 
•most certainly enable us to obtain possession of the 
whole country; but I cannot assist in those which 
would probably defeat that object. 

Mr. Chairman, I am not one of those who have 
ever said or thought that Oregon was not worth a 
"war. I:* it were a barren rock in the ocean, if it 
were a mere idle strip of seashore sand, the coun- 
try ought to fight for it sooner than suffer itself to 
be dispossessed by violence. To depress the na- 
tional tone, to degrade the national spirit, would be 
far worse than w.ir itself. I feel the solemn respon- 
sibility which rests upon us to defe:id by war, even, 
(if war should be necessary as the only means for 
that purpose,) every inch of American soil, through- 
out the whole length of our possessions, from the 
extreme regions of the frozen north down to the sun- 
ny slopes which look to the burning line, through- 
Cut their whole breadth, from the rising to the set- 
ting sun, from the "steep Atlantic stream" to the 
far Pacific wave. But whilst we admit the 
truth of these sentiments, let us rememb-er, 
at the same time, that war is never justifiable 
until it becomes necessary; and before that can be 
shown we must first have exhausted all honorable 
and proper measures to preserve o«r rights in peace 
I maintain, sir, that there are such means at our dis- 
posal, and by adopting thens we may not only avoid 



the dangers of war, but probably the chance of lo- 
sing Oregon. 

Mr. Chairman, 1 will go farther. If from the ac- 
tion of this House, or from any other circumstances, 
war should occur, although there may be southern 
men who believe that it could have been avoided, yet 
I take this occasion to say to the West, that when 
it becomes clearly necessary and presents the only 
remaining mode of obtaining our rights, they will 
find the South standing by the country and by them 
with heart and hand. Yes, when that hour comes — 
and God grant that there may never be a necessity 
for it — the maxim of the gallant Decatur will find 
one universal acceptation amongst the whole 
American people — "our country, right or wrong." 
Many may be found deeply deploring, in- 
deed, the mismanagement, or the necessity, 
which has plunged the country into war, but 
they will not pause to settle the question of 
responsibility until ihey have first done all that be- 
comes them to preserve national rights and honor. I 
must, however, here declare, in a spirit of entire 
frankness, that if, by giving this notice, we should 
ultimately either lose Oregon or be led into an unne- 
cessary war to obtain it, those who give this notice 
will be held responsible, at the proper time, for all 
its consequences. It. is the undoubted duty of every 
section of this confederacy, North, South, East, and 
West, to defend the national soil, and protect the 
national honor. But we owe it to ourselves, to our 
posterity, and to the great interests of humanity, to 
exhaust all honorable mean3 of peace before we 
plunge the nation into war. Wo to the people 
amongst whom war becomes a familiar and 
a household word, and wo to the statesman 
who cultivates a spirit of violence amongst 
those whom he influences, instead of cherish- 
ing a disposition to peace. In this connexion, 
Mr. Chairman, I must be permitted to express the 
profound regret with which I have heard some of 
the remarks made in this debate. There are ele- 
ments enough of strife abroad in the public mind 
without enlisting the passions further in the work of 
havoc and ruin. It was with the deepest regret that 
1 heard members upon this floor taunting the admin- 
istration, and declaring the belief that it would 
"back out," and that it could not be "kicked into a 
war." These sounds fell on my ear like the echoes 
of something of which I had heard before, and 
which contributed to the same result upon another 
occasion — a result for which a necessity then ex- 
isted, however unfortunate it might be now. 

There never was, there never can be, an admin- 
istration elected by the people of this country, 
which could refuse a war, if national rights and 
honor required it. None but a timid administra- 
tion can be "kicked into a war" by domestic oppo- 
nents. It requires far more courage to resist a war- 
cry than to yield to it. It sometimes requires 
more moral firmness and greater and higher qualities 
of mind to withstand the first outburst of the war 
feeling, and calmly to appeal to the sober second 
thought of a reflecting people for ultimate in- 
structions, than to be the hero of a hundred 
fields. 

Mr. Chairman, I will now say, and I desire my 
words to be noted, that if any gentleman here be- 
lieves that this notice will lead to war, and yet votes 
for it under the hope that the President will back 
out sooner than face the result, he is utterly mista- 
ken. This administration will not back out from 
any position which it has taken in the face of the 



s 



world, and before the American people. Whoev- 1 
cr, therefore, votes for this measure, foreseeing, but j 
not desiring its consequences, will be far more res- j 
ponsible for the result, in a moral point of view, than 
the administration which has acted, as I believe, j 
from an honest though erroneous conviction of? 
duty. 

Mr. Chairman, I will conclude by observing, j 
that I am fully aware that nothing which I can say j 
will influence the action of this House. 1 never ex- 
pected that it would. But I have presented my j 
views upon this subject fully and frankly, in order j 
that I may place myself fairly before my constitu- j 
ents and friends, who alone feel an interest in my ; 
course. My sole aim has been to vindicate myself 
with them. Would to God that I had the power to j 
reach the heart of the House and the nation ! 
Would to God that I could persuade them to be- 
Ware, ere they precipitated themselves into a war, I 
and exposed themselves to consequences which no j 
eye but that above can measure or pursue. 1 would J 
beseech my countrymen first to exhaust all the j 
means of preserving peace with honor. They owe ! 



this to themselves and their posterity, to the char- 
acter ofthe country, to the hopes of our race, and 
the great interests of humanity. If these measures 
should fail, and war should become inevitable, we 
should go into it a united people, with one heart 
and with one mind. We should go into it with 
those high feelings with which conscious rectitude, 
and an outraged spirit can alone inspire a man or a 
people. We should carry with us the sympathies 
of Christendom; and, more than all, we might de- 
voutly invoke the blessing of the God of battles in a 
contest which we had alone nothing to provoke, 
and we had sought by all honorable means to avert. 
If war should become the only remedy for wound- 
ed honor and violated right, all will rally to the res- 
cue of the country, and to avenge its wrongs. As 
devoted as any in the glorious band, I will venture 
to say, the sons of the South will be found at thu 
post of duty — not standing by. as cold-hearted 
spectators, or as laggards in the day of trial. No, 
sir; they will be found 

True to tbe last of their blood and their breath, 
And like reapers descend to the harvest of death. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

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